Saturday

For the fun of it, Daniel DeLima would look for routes that would produce the design of an animal. He and Junea Bicalho would run those routes together.

MILLBURY — Daniel DeLima was a passionate runner who discovered new running routes wherever he went.

DeLima, 51, was checking out a new place to run a few miles from his home early Wednesday when he was struck and killed by what police believe was a sport utility vehicle, whose driver failed to stop.

Police charged a 39-year-old Sutton man in connection with the incident on Friday.

Family members who gathered Thursday at 16 Atwood St. in Millbury spoke of their loss. They said they are struggling to find the ability to forgive the person who hit their much-loved family member and did not bother to stop to help him.

"He was loved by everyone," said Junea Bicalho, who lived with DeLima in the home they bought and moved into on June 27.

Bicalho said he would often explore new running routes and was looking for good places to run in Millbury and Sutton. Wearing a T-shirt in the design of a dog, she explained that the shirt was created by DeLima based on route he ran in Brasilia, Brazil. For the fun of it, he would look for routes that would produce the design of an animal. DeLima and Bicalho would run those routes together. Another design he created was a running route that looked like a duck.

Family members said he was the smartest person in their family. He had earned a doctorate, and was working on another advanced degree at the time of his death. Since early last year, he had worked as a mental health therapist for the Framingham and Milford offices of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center.

Monica Delgado, a family friend, said DeLima was fun to be around.

"He was the life of the party," she said, adding that he was also full of empathy for others.

Andrea Makkas, DeLima's sister, said her brother was a caring person who touched many lives with his work as a psychotherapist.

"He helped so many people," she said. "We have been hearing from so many people he helped."

A written statement released by the family Wednesday night expressed the deep sorrow the family is feeling.

"He is the most wonderful person we know. He was very loved and will be missed by many. We have no words to express our pain. Jogging was one of his favorite things in life. He left us doing what he loves. The family appreciates all the love and prayers."

DeLima graduated from the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, where he earned a master of arts degree in psychoanalysis in 2004, and a doctorate in psychoanalysis and culture in 2013.

Jane Snyder, the school’s president, said she had kept in touch with DeLima, last speaking with him about a year ago. She was upset to learn of his death.

“This is really a tragedy. This is really horrible,” Snyder said by phone Thursday. “He was a really wonderful person. It’s very upsetting what happened.”

According to the school’s website, DeLima, while pursuing his master’s degree, began working for the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center at 19 Tacoma St., Worcester, as a mental health therapist for people from all over the world. He worked there from January 2002 until April 2013. He returned in February 2018 and worked mostly out of the health center’s Framingham and Milford sites.

Stephen J. Kerrigan, the center’s president and CEO, in a statement Thursday said DeLima was kind and caring and touched everyone with whom he worked.

“Daniel was a truly gifted and exceptional behavioral health provider, who worked with his patients and our team for many years. His loss will be felt deeply by the community he served and the people he helped," Kerrigan said.

DeLima also studied Brazilian immigrants who had returned to Brazil, leading him to return to his home country after earning his doctorate in 2013.

Snyder, president of the graduate school, said the title of DeLima’s dissertation was “Experiencing the return: Psychosocial and psychodynamic factors affecting re-adaptation of immigrants returning to Brazil.”

He held several positions in Brazil, most notably as a researcher with the Ministry of Health.

When he returned, he came back to BGSP to speak about his research, Snyder said. She said DeLima related well with people.

“He was very serious about his work, and he was very empathetic,” she said. “He had a very good heart.”

Friends of DeLima have started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his funeral expenses and for his family's living expenses for the upcoming months.

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